Interstate 80 in New Jersey

Interstate 80 or I -80 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway forms an east-west link through the north of the state, from the Delaware Water Gap on the Pennsylvania border to Fort Lee, just before New York City. The I-80 runs largely through the suburbs of New York City and is 110 kilometers long.

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Travel directions

The Delaware Water Gap on the Pennsylvania border.

The end of I-80 in Fort Lee.

Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania crosses the Delaware River at the Delaware Water Gap, which also forms the border with New Jersey. The Delaware Water Gap is a break in the ridge through which the Delaware River flows. I-80 also runs through this with 2×2 lanes. The highway leads through densely wooded area. I-80 first leads another 30 kilometers through rural areas, before reaching the westernmost suburbs of New York. I-80 has 2×3 lanes from Columbia, with some 4 lanes on ramps. The first suburb of interest on the route is Netcong.

The first 40 kilometers in the urban area of ​​New York lead through fairly sparsely built suburbs, located in dense forests. From Dover, I-80 has 2×4 lanes. In Parsippany, it intersects with Interstate 287, which forms the western bypass of the New Jersey suburbs. After this, I-80 briefly has a 10-lane parallel structure until it splits with Interstate 280 to Newark. I-80 then has 2×3 lanes again and crosses the Passaic River twice.

One then reaches an area that is more densely built-up, with Paterson being the first center town. I-80 then has 2×4 lanes west of Paterson to its interchange with State Route 19. In Paterson the Passaic River is crossed two more times. It then interchanges with State Route 21 and the Garden State Parkway. I-80 then has a 10-lane parallel structure to its interchange with Interstate 95 at Ridgefield Park. It crosses the Hackensack River here, after which I-80 ends at I-95. I-95 then continues to New York City.

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History

I-80 in New Jersey was first planned in 1936 as a replacement for US 46, but other priorities prevented construction on the highway from beginning. In 1955 it was again considered to build the road, because the existing highways (SR 4 and US 46 ) were already congested, for this the Bergen-Passaic Expressway was devised, the current Interstate 80 by Paterson. The section was assigned as Federal Aid Interstate Route 101 to the Pennsylvania border in 1956, and was renamed Interstate 80 in 1959. The section east from Teaneck to Fort Lee is currently Interstate 95.

The bridge over the Delaware River was already opened in 1953, from the bridge to the town of Columbia. This bridge is a toll bridge. Until 1973 the road was signposted as I-80 and US 611, but after that the road was only signposted as Interstate 80. The section was constructed as a 2×2 with low design requirements, as the road had already been constructed before the Interstate Highway plan was developed.

Construction on I-80 began in 1959 between Route 15 and US 46, was completed in 1961, and extended to Netcong in 1963. This section is currently located in the easternmost development of the New York metropolitan area. The easternmost section from Paterson to I-95 was completed in 1964 and 1965. After this, the section between US 46 and Rockaway was built in 1967. In 1969 and 1971 the last part followed in the present agglomeration. The route was completed in 1973. From that moment on, US 611 was no longer signposted. This number later disappeared completely and is currently Pennsylvania Route 611.

The highway, like other New Jersey highways, had solar-powered emergency telephones. Due to the increasing use of the cell phone and decreasing use of these emergency telephones, the New Jersey Department of Transportation removed all these telephones in 2005 to cut costs. These have also been removed on many other highways.

Opening history

Traffic intensities

Speed ​​limits

The speed limit varies frequently, including on slopes, and is generally 65 MPH (105 km/h) on rural areas, and 55 MPH (88 km/h) in urban areas and on slopes. This maximum speed can be perceived as low by Europeans, certainly outside the urban area.

Lane Configuration

I-80 in Paterson.